


Rivalry Doesn't Last Forever

by WyldeSpiderRaptor



Series: Spideychelle Week 2k20 [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Michelle Jones, Coffee, Coffee Shops, Dorks, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Michelle Jones is a Dork, Michelle Jones is a Little Shit, Minor Betty Brant/Ned Leeds, Ned Leeds is So Done With Michelle Jones, Ned Leeds is So Done With Peter Parker, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Ned and Betty are So Done, Peter Parker and Michelle Jones do NOT get along, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker is a dork, Rivalry, Secret Relationship, Spideychelle Week 2K20, spideychelle week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24913024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WyldeSpiderRaptor/pseuds/WyldeSpiderRaptor
Summary: Peter Parker and Michelle Jones have never been each other's biggest fans. The budding rivalry between the two had torn up all chances of friendship, and they wanted to keep it that way.But that was before the frequent Saturday meetups and irritating bickering turned into playful banter.Spideychelle Week Day 6: Enemies to Lovers
Relationships: Betty Brant/Ned Leeds (background), Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Past Felicia Hardy/Peter Parker
Series: Spideychelle Week 2k20 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762618
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28
Collections: Spideychelle Week, Spideychelle Week 2020





	Rivalry Doesn't Last Forever

**Author's Note:**

> This one was pretty challenging to write since I didn't really know how to write this out. I hope I did a decent job on it, and I hope you guys liked it, too!

“Ned, please don’t make me do this.” Peter Parker stuck out his lower lip in a pout, hands gripping the steering wheel of his car in a white-knuckle grip.

It was a gift from Mr. Stark after he received his driver’s license, not too flashy, but not too crummy, either. It was a nice car, except for the stupid Spider-Man bumper sticker he still couldn’t scrape off.

“Peter, c’mon. It’s not gonna be _that_ bad,” Ned Leeds chided impatiently. “You won’t even have to interact with them, you’ll be fine.”

“If I had known Betty was bringing Michelle Jones of all people with us…” The seventeen-year-old bit out, a low, rumbling hiss erupting from his throat.

“Dude, calm down,” Ned reassured. “It’s just a few hours, you’ll be fine.”

Peter rolled his eyes with a scoff. He knew he was being immature and petty, but he knew for a _fact_ that Michelle hated him probably more than he did.

He resisted the urge to growl, his spider fangs poking the top of his lower lip, as Betty skipped out of her apartment with an annoyed Michelle in tow.

Peter forced himself to put on the fakest, stupidest grin when he and the taller girl made eye contact. “Well! What a surprise!” He said in a sing-song voice that earned him a slug to the arm from Ned.

“Trust me, Parker, if I knew you were here, I would’ve stayed home,” Michelle deadpanned.

“Hey, babe!" Betty greeted, kissing Ned through his unrolled window.

Peter and Michelle both gave exaggerated gags of disgust, before the shorter boy pushed his seat back, smirking.

“Parker, move your seat up.”

“No.”

“Guys, c’mon,” Ned whined, as Betty climbed into the backseat with Michelle, who promptly kicked Peter’s chair up towards the steering wheel, making his foot jolt off the brake pedal.

The car rolled a few feet before he regained composure and braked again, a bit harder than he intended. He muttered something that sounded eerily similar to “you asshole” under his breath, before pulling out of his parking space and driving towards their destination.

Ned and Betty chatted on and on about what they were going to do at the Natural History Museum while Peter and Michelle were left in awkward silence.

Occasionally, he’d feel her kick at his chair while trying to get comfortable in the backseat, but he could handle that.

He glanced in the rearview mirror to see her scrolling through something on her phone since it was too dark in his car to read or draw.

Focusing back on the road, his Spider-Sense pinged in a warning, and he slammed on the brakes, laying on his horn when a giant truck ran the red light right in front of them. “What the hell, man?!”

Michelle jolted a bit, her seatbelt locking up, making her drop her phone on the floor of the backseat. “Dammit, Parker, give me a warning next time!”

“I saved your ass, Jones, you’ll live without your phone,” he snorted, making her roll her eyes.

“Idiot.”

“Okay, now that we’re no longer in the threat of being creamed,” Ned spoke up to try and dissolve the tension between his two friends, “you guys wanna stop and find food somewhere?”

“As long as you keep my food as far away from Michelle as possible, yes,” Peter responded, scanning the area he was driving in to try and find a decent place to eat.

“Why would I touch your food, Parker?” Michelle asked in exasperation.

“You put hot sauce and chili powder all over my burger last time!” Peter replied, pulling into a parking lot in front of a diner called The Jackson House.

“Doesn’t this place have, like, the best breakfast in Queens?” Michelle asked, deliberately ignoring Peter and focusing on Betty instead.

“Yeah, but I don’t think they’ll serve breakfast at this time,” she said, as Peter locked his car, somewhat satisfied when the loud beep made Michelle flinch and whirl around to flip him off.

Peter grinned cockily, which earned an eye roll from Ned. “What? I had to lock the car.”

“Yeah, and you scared the _shit_ out of me,” the taller girl snapped. She squared her shoulders and stalked off into the diner.

“Peter, _please_ try to get along with her,” Ned begged, which made his friend sigh.

“Alright, fine. I’ll try…” He grumbled and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his grey zip-up hoodie. He begrudgingly followed Ned inside the diner, which was unusually busy for a Saturday evening.

To his and Michelle’s disappointment, Ned and Betty sat next to each other on one side of the booth, which left them both to sit next to each other on the other side of the table.

“I’m getting you back for this, Leeds,” Michelle hissed, sliding into the booth after Peter.

“What are you guys gonna order?” Betty asked, while Ned shot an apologetic look towards Peter, who was glaring at him with narrowed chocolate eyes.

Michelle grumpily pulled her menu up towards her face, her and Peter deliberately avoiding eye contact by hiding their faces in their menus.

“You guys are ridiculous,” Ned said, shaking his head.

Once their food was ordered, the four teenagers busied themselves with scarfing it down so they could get to the aquarium before it closed for the night.

They both all agreed to split their meal, so each person paid for whatever they ordered when the waitress came by with the bill.

Peter and Michelle were both all-too-eager to finish their meals and head o the aquarium for the reason that they just wanted to get the evening over with and get back to their apartments.

They already spent so much time together, and they were sick of it. Seeing each other at school was already torturous enough, but being cramped in a car driving to the aquarium in Brooklyn was way worse.

As soon as they stepped foot in the large building, Betty led her boyfriend down one hallway, excitedly pointing at all the amazing creatures swimming around behind the glass.

Peter found that he enjoyed himself at the aquarium. Just like when he was little, he loved sitting back and watching the fish swim past, a large smile on his face.

“Never thought an asshole like you had so much fun here,” Michelle deadpanned, instantly killing his mood. She stood next to him, snapping a picture of one of the sharks that swam past, its large tail swishing from side to side.

Instead of retorting with a stupid comeback, Peter only nodded. “My uncle took me here a lot before he died,” he said, never looking at her once.

“Huh.” The girl rubbed her arm awkwardly before looking around. “I think Ned and Betty ditched us.”

Peter turned around and swore quietly to himself. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He felt his pockets for his car keys and was very relieved that he still had them. “Well, they didn’t steal the car.”

“Why would they want to steal a car that’s protected by Spider-Man?” She asked with an arched eyebrow, referring to the horrible bumper sticker that was permanently stuck on the surface of his car.

He groaned, covering his face with his hands. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice that stupid thing…”

“Great. Something we agree on.” She pushed past him, looking around to try and locate their friends in the dim lighting.

“What? We agree on something?” Peter gripped the front of his shirt, almost like he was getting ready to have a heart attack. “I’m going into cardiac arrest; Michelle Jones _agreed_ with me!”

“Oh, shut up, loser,” the girl snorted. “You’re acting like a child.”

“I am a child. And so are you,” the smug-looking boy grinned at her, which earned him a shove.

“Shut up, or I’m feeding you to the sharks, Parker,” she warned before a flash of bright blonde hair caught her eye. “Ah, there they are.”

The two walked towards their friends, who grinned innocently at them, acting as if they hadn't abandoned them with the person they disliked the most.

“Why the hell did you leave me with her?” Peter demanded, giving his friend an unimpressed stare.

“We didn’t know you were left behind,” Betty said in almost fake confusion.

“Well, you kinda did,” Michelle replied flatly. “Anyway, I’m kinda ready to head out. The sooner I can get away from Parker over here the better.”

“Haha, very funny, Jones,” Peter grumbled, rolling his eyes. “I’m your ride, don’t forget that.”

“Regretfully, I’m unable to forget that,” Michelle deadpanned, giving the shorter boy an unenthused stare.

Ned heaved a sigh, stepping in between them. “Alright, guys, let’s go. I think the aquarium’s about to close, anyway.”

Just like before, Ned and Betty were the only two people in the car who spoke, and it was usually just talking about what they were doing while they were separated from Peter and Michelle.

Peter dropped Betty off at her place, then Ned at his, promising to text him before school on Monday, which left him and Michelle as the only two people in the car.

Peter risked a glance in the rear-view mirror to see her head resting against the backseat window of his car, her eyes closed. It looked like she was asleep.

He felt a bit bad that he was such a jerk to her like he always did after school or decathlon practice, which she threatened to kick him out of on one or two occasions if he was annoying her.

“Hey, uh… We’re here,” he said, clearing his throat.

Michelle’s eyes blearily flickered open before a tired sigh slipped past her lips. “Great…” She gathered whatever she had brought with her on the drive to Brooklyn, Peter parallel parked in front of her apartment building.

“You live a block away from me, how sad,” he mocked, no real bite in his tone this time, which she detected instantly.

“How sad,” she said in a monotoned voice. “Regretfully, I’ll see you at school on Monday.”

“Yeah. regretfully,” he echoed, barely watching her climb out of the backseat, shutting the door behind her.

Peter started to pull out of his parking space when she began to walk up the steps of her apartment building, only driving off after the front doors closed behind her.

* * *

Michelle always frequented Delmar’s on school days where she didn’t have decathlon practice to run. She loved spending time in the diner at the back of the bodega to work on homework or read one of her books before heading home to fix dinner with her mother. It was relaxing to her, almost therapeutic in a sense.

That was until Peter Parker showed up in the booth behind her.

He looked run-down and tired, his hair a mess of curls, and there was a lipstick stain on his cheek and jaw, which he was trying to scrub off with a wet napkin he dipped in his bottled water.

“I can see you’ve been busy,” she commented dryly, which made Peter jolt in his seat, whipping his head around to face her.

“Oh. I didn’t know you were here…” He mumbled, sounding more tired than annoyed. He rested his arms on the table, then placed his cheek on one arm. “You come here often?”

“Yeah, every day, and I don’t appreciate you barging in here and ruining the moment,” she said, no real bite to her tone.

“I just wanted some alone time away from Felicia,” he admitted sheepishly.

Felicia Hardy was Peter’s girlfriend. She was a very rich, very popular girl that had transferred to Midtown at the beginning of their junior year. She and Peter had been official for nine months, but he didn’t look like he was enjoying the relationship all that much.

It looked like whatever Felicia was doing was wearing him out more and more every day.

“Boy, I can’t stand her,” Michelle grumbled, shaking her head.

A small smile tugged at Peter’s lips. “She accused me of cheating with you, by the way.”

The girl scoffed in disbelief. “As if I’ll ever go out with _you_ , Peter Parker.”

Peter laughed, openly _laughed_ , when he heard her comment. “That’s what I told her. I wouldn’t dream of cheating on her with you. That’s just… I mean, who dates the person they can’t even get along with?” He lifted his gaze to look up at her, and she could see the exhaustion swimming in his eyes.

“My thoughts exactly,” she said in reply, shaking her head.

They went their separate ways after that conversation, and it wasn’t ever brought up, not even after Peter had tiredly trudged into the bodega after a heated argument with Felicia that led to her storming out of the school and throwing a huge temper tantrum because of some stupid thing Peter wasn’t comfortable doing.

She started to find out that his presence in the bodega each non-decathlon day was comforting in some way. Sure, they sat in opposite booths, but just knowing the idiotic dork was sitting at his table and minding his own business was something she couldn’t stop thinking about.

After a while, their “coincidental” meetups became more frequent. It wasn’t even at Delamr’s half of the time. Instead, it was at the coffee shop Michelle worked at on the weekends or one of Peter and Ned’s favorite comic book stores.

They always found some way to see each other, be it coincidental, or they both secretly expect the other to be there.

Of course, they always insulted the other, always trying to find some sort of comeback for a comment the other made. It was fun to see Ned’s exasperated expression and annoyed sigh every time they bickered.

When the heat of their argument died down, Michelle never missed the generous, sincere grin on the dorky boy’s face when he faced her after Ned had his back turned.

She didn’t understand why the budding dislike for Peter was dwindling every time she saw him at the coffee shop, bodega or school, just being himself instead of the asshole she previously thought he’d be.

She had a suspicion why he always went to places he specifically knew she’d be, but she was only sixty-seven percent sure. She never brought it up for fear of losing...whatever this kind of acquaintance this was. Still, she wondered if Peter had the same thought.

One day at her shift, while she was working on someone’s coffee order, she glanced up to see Peter stroll through the door.

He grinned widely when he saw her, standing in line behind a rich-looking businesswoman, giving her a cheeky wave.

She rolled her eyes, then set the coffee down on the small side table for whoever ordered it.

Peter looked in the display case of pastries and other goodies, his eyes lingering on the buttered croissant he always bought.

She was thankful that one of her coworkers stepped in to take the businesswoman’s lengthy order of seven drinks, which meant Peter Parker himself padded towards the second counter, money in hand.

“Let me guess; hot chocolate and two quacksons,” she guessed, as Peter handed over his change.

“I don’t pronounce it like that,” he protested, sticking his lower lip out in a pout.

“Yes, you do, Parker, don’t you dare deny that you don’t.” She handed him whatever change he needed back

Before he bounced off to his frequented table.

“For the record, you pronounce it krwa-san!” He called over his shoulder.

“Then stop calling it a quackson!” She fired back, making Peter snort indignantly.

“Is he your boyfriend or something?” Gwen Stacy asked as Michelle popped two croissants in their toaster oven to heat it, already working on Peter’s hot chocolate.

“No way, I’d never date him,” the younger girl responded instantly. “Don’t forget the marshmallows, by the way,” she said, motioning to the hot, chocolatey drink her coworker held.

“‘Never date him’ my ass,” Gwen chuckled fondly, shaking her head. “Trust me, sweetheart, that’s what I said about my fiancé.”

Michelle rolled her eyes, discreetly scribbling her phone number on the brown and green paper bag holding the croissants.

Peter jumped to his feet excitedly, padding towards the counter to grab his after-lunch treat and hot chocolate. He grinned playfully at her, letting out a cheeky “thank you, miss”, which made her scoff and roll his eyes.

“Whatever, just get your stuff,” she grumbled, no bite in her words whatsoever. She was unable to miss the look of wonder on his face when he looked back up at her, clearly having seen her scrawl her phone number down on the piece of paper for him.

She wasn’t able to miss the little text he sent her after she got off of work for the day, either.

They began texting on occasion, which was usually just a few, short texts that consisted of playful banter.

Some part of her always looked forward to hearing the little ping of her phone whenever Peter sent her a text or even a picture of his dog, a standard poodle called Layla, whenever he felt it was necessary. Even when it was 2:30 a.m (that was always something she questioned).

She was getting off early from work one day when she first met Spider-Man.

She was walking aimlessly down the street, gripping the strap of her backpack when someone approached her.

“Hey, sweetheart,” an older man chuckled, wolf-whistling. He was leaning against the wall of the coffee shop, grinning at the seventeen-year-old.

Michelle furrowed her brow but didn’t pay him any attention. If she had to, she could always use her pepper spray on him.

“Aww, where you going? I just wanna talk,” the man said in a fake disappointed voice.

 _Then go talk to someone else, you pervert_ , she thought, refusing to look over her shoulder at him, although the uneasy feeling in her gut made her begin to believe that he was following her.

Thankful for her brother training her in self-defense, she grabbed her pepper spray from her bag and aimed it right at the creep’s face before he could grab her.

He howled in pain as soon as the burning liquid hit his face. Grunting when Michelle aimed a harsh kick to his gut, he doubled over, just as a large bast of sticky, white webbing pinned him to his spot.

“I had that handled,” she drawled, folding her arms over her chest.

“I know, that’s why I’m not coming within ten feet of you,” Spider-Man responded from the top of a light post, sunlight glinting off of his iconic, red, and blue, skin-tight spandex suit.

“Why? You worried I’ll pepper spray you, too?” She asked, twirling her mace around by its keychain.

“No, I can smell it from over here.” He ducked his head down towards his chest before moving his mask up to try and rub at his irritated eyes without giving away his identity.

A few, very familiar copper curls fell in his face, which made Michelle squint, trying to see if she could get a glimpse at his face before he pulled his mask on.

To say she wasn’t surprised to see who it was...well...expected.

“You always take your mask off for people?” She asked as the hero pulled his mask back on over his head to look up at her.

“Only for the people who know me personally,” he responded innocently, sounding way too much like the goofball Peter Parker.

She tilted her head up at him before nodding. “Nice.” She started walking away from the man, hearing Peter mumble a command to who she guessed was his AI system to alert the police of the man that had been following her.

“You work at the coffee place back there?” Spider-Man asked, swinging onto another lamppost.

“I don’t bite, loser, get down here. You know me better than that,” the girl said, amused by the vigilante’s behavior.

“Oh. Okay.” He jumped down from the lamp post in front of her. “I was just worried that it would’ve been weird or something, I dunno.”

 _This little shit_ , Michelle thought, as the bumbling superhero trotted after her. They walked alone for a while, with the occasional question of what he could do entering short conversations and the interference of the occasional purse snatcher or an angry cat stuck in a tree.

His compassion and courage to protect people and help them with really anything baffled Michelle. She didn’t know the boy she thought was the biggest asshole in the world was like this.

In all honesty… She liked this side of him.

His work as Spider-Man was what made her want to see him more often, both in the suit and as Peter Parker all the same.

Of course, the first time the spider was drawn on the lid of his hot chocolate during a busy Saturday at the coffee shop, his panicked copper eyes flickered up towards her, almost like he wanted to deny that he was the superhero she had seen swinging past her bedroom window more than once. All the little idiot got in return was a knowing, smug grin and nothing more.

Even his texts about him claiming he wasn’t Spider-Man fell on deaf ears or were blown off by the girl with a simple “whatever, loser”.

Maybe the denial of his involvement as masquerading as the spider-themed vigilante was what made her start to feel something towards the dorky seventeen-year-old she got accustomed to seeing every Saturday during her shift.

On one rainy Saturday, Michelle watched Peter bounce into the coffee shop, greeting her with a lopsided smile.

“Hey,” he grinned, already handing her the money for his usual order, plus an extra ten dollars for a drink and scone or Felicia. His copper eyes looked tired and his hair was fluffy and disheveled underneath the hood of his grey sweatshirt, rain droplets decorating his shoulders, and the top of his hood.

“Welcome back to hell, loser,” Michelle said flatly. “You buying something for Felicia, I’m assuming?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Just a frappuccino and a blueberry scone. I’m gonna take her to the aquarium later today,” he said, his voice sounding tired and defeated despite the bright smile on his face.

Michelle tilted her head at him, a casual smile on her lips. “Nice.”

Peter looked over his shoulder when he sensed Ned and Betty walking towards the little corner shop and laughed. “You should purposely screw up the order. I love seeing the look on Ned’s face when you did that last time,” he said, stuffing a dollar in the little tip jar on the counter before walking off.

She wadded up his receipt and tossed it at his head. “You forgot your receipt, idiot!”

He simply laughed again, plopping down in his chair at his usual table to wait for his order.

“Hey, Peter!” Ned greeted brightly, a large smile on his face.

“Hey, man,” Peter greeted, smiling. He stood up when Ned and Betty approached, hand-in-hand. “What’re you doing here?”

“Oh, Ned brought me here for our three month anniversary!” Betty said happily. She stood on tiptoe to reach ned to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. “I didn’t know Michelle worked here, that’s kinda cool.”

“Oh yeah I try to steer as far away from her as possible,” Peter said, rolling his eyes. “Didn’t have much of a choice today, though.”

Michelle couldn’t hear any real bite behind Peter’s words, thanks to their irritating bickering falling away into playful banter and nicknames she tossed at him.

Of course, Peter couldn’t come up with as good of nicknames as she could, so he just stuck to calling her by her name instead of a nickname, since he wasn’t sure if she _wanted_ him to address her with one.

“Order for Peter Parker,” Gwen called out, causing Peter to snap out of his daze and walk towards the counter.

Michelle gave him a _very_ convincing glare, and he almost returned it with a hiss, but he thought better about it and chose to roll his eyes instead, trying to hide the smile creeping across his face.

He returned to his table where Ned and Betty were still at. “I’m gonna meet Felicia at the aquarium soon, so I need to get ready to go.”

Michelle noticed the sorrowful look on Ned’s face despite his smile, which seemed odd to her. She was going to get off at 3:00 that day, so maybe she could meet him somewhere and ask what the deal was?

“Alright, man. I’ll see you on Monday,” Ned said, performing his and Peter’s handshake.

“Thanks. You guys have fun,” he said, waving to Betty. He walked backward a few feet before glancing at Michelle out of the corner of his eye, making her smirk discreetly to try and act like they were still ignoring each other in front of their friends.

Michelle watched him exit the coffee shop before noticing Betty walk up to the counter.

“Has Peter been coming here often?” She asked after giving the taller girl her order.

“You mean that idiot?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, sometimes. It’s a good coffee shop. I wouldn’t be surprised if he came here.”

Betty looked a bit suspicious, but she didn’t press it, which Michelle was thankful for.

After her shift was over, Michelle took the green apron she always wore off of her and hung it on a coat rack in the very back of the building.

“Gwen, I’m heading out!” She called, grabbing her backpack off of the floor of the employee lounge.

“Alright! Say ‘Hi’ to your boyfriend for me,” Gwen teased, laughing as she mopped up a coffee spill.

“Haha, Gwen, real funny,” Michelle grumbled, as she headed out towards the exit doors.

She pulled out her phone from her bag to see that she had gotten a text from Peter about two minutes ago, which made her confused. He should be at the aquarium by now… Something must have happened, that was the only logical reason as to why he was texting her today when he should have been spending time with Felicia.

 _Loser Spider-Boy: “Can you please come over to my place today? You know the address_.”

_Michelle: “Yeah. Sure. I’ll be there in 15.”_

Sending a quick text to her mother that she was going over to a friend’s house, she started to make her way towards Peter’s apartment, thankful that it was only a block away from hers.

* * *

Peter sat on the couch of his apartment, one hand covering his face. His eyes were rimmed with red, and his cheeks were flushed, almost like he had been crying.

Layla’s head was resting on his leg next to him on the couch, a pitiful whine escaping her throat.

He lifted one hand and started to scratch the back of her head with his fingers, smiling sadly at her.

“Hey, sweet girl...” He said softly, staring at the dog’s large, honey brown eyes.

Her apricot-colored fur was soft and curly under his fingers, as she tossed her head back to start licking the palm of his hand while he scratched her under the jaw.

“Now I know you won’t cheat on me…” He held her fluffy face in his hands, kissing her forehead as she licked his chin.

When someone knocked on the door, Layla let out a ferocious bark, tearing off of the couch and towards the door.

“Layla! Layla, sit!” Peter commanded, pushing himself off of the couch.

The standard poodle looked back at Peter before sitting down in obedience, still letting out little woofs.

When Peter unlocked the door, she stood up, which made him hold her back by her brown, Chewbacca-themed collar. “Stay.”

He lifted his gaze from his dog to see Michelle standing at the door, a look of slight confusion on her face.

Hey… I, uh...got your text…” She said awkwardly. She looked down when Layla shoved her giant head through the gap in the door, her tail wagging. “Hey, there. I’m assuming this is Layla?” She asked, bending down to let her sniff her hand.

Peter let go of the dog’s collar, knowing Michelle didn’t pose a threat to her. “Yeah. That’s Layla. She likes you already, I can tell.”

The girl smiled, rubbing the dog behind her ears. “I can see why you’re just crazy about her. She’s a good dog.”

Peter smiled before tugging Layla back inside the house. “I’ll...let you come in now…”

“Yeah, that would be nice,” she replied, shaking her head fondly. She stepped inside the apartment, looking around a tiny bit before focusing on Peter. “So… Why aren’t you hanging out with Miss Felicia today?” She asked, curious.

“Oh. _That_ … Well… That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said, sitting down on the couch.

Layla instantly jumped up into the spot next to him before Michelle could sit, causing her to chuckle and sit on the other side of the vigilante. “Doesn’t like sharing, huh?”

Peter smiled and shook his head. “No, not really,” he joked, before leaning down to kiss the dog’s head. “But I still love her.”

Layla wagged her tail, playfully gnawing on Peter’s wrist, making him laugh and playfully shove her head away. She made an indignant little whining sound, already reaching for his wrist again.

“Ah! Don’t be rude, Cinnabon,” he scolded gently, using one of his many nicknames he gave her.

“So… What happened? I’m not trying to be obvious or anything… But you _do_ look like shit, Parker,” Michelle spoke up, making th dorky boy look back at her.

He cleared his throat, running a hand through his mess of curls. “Right. Uh… Wow, where do I start..?” He rubbed Layla’s neck scruff. “Well… I found out that she’s been sleeping with _every. Single. Guy_ at Midtown for twelve weeks. She… She finally admitted it to me, and I was just…” he paused to steel his breathing. “I was furious.”

Michelle stayed quiet, simply letting him talk. She didn’t want to interrupt or cut him off mid-sentence.

“You know me, Michelle, I try not to get mad at anyone. Apart from you,” he said, which made her slug him in the arm.

“Very funny, Parker. Now keep going,” she said, nodding a bit.

Peter nodded a bit in return with a sigh. “I ended it. I ended the relationship with her. Just knowing she was...y’know...unfaithful with me made me want to end it.”

She knew how much this relationship meant to Peter. He had pined for Liz Allan back in their sophomore year but the want to date the older girl was shattered when Spider-Man showed up and tangled with her father’s illegal activity.

Sure, this was his first real relationship with anyone, and he wanted to do Felicia right. He did everything for her. He was just...so _good_ like that, it was honestly a crime.

“I mean, I… I cared about her… Michelle, why would she do that? After everything that I did for her and this is how she repays me..?” He lifted his tired gaze from his shoes to the taller girl next to him.

Layla whined and rested her chin on his arm, looking up at him with those honey-brown eyes of hers, almost like she felt just as bad for him as Michelle surprisingly did.

She sighed, looking down before gently gripping Peter’s bruised hand. “I’m sorry, Peter... I might not be the best for when it comes to getting close to people, or when it comes to comforting them… But… Felicia Hardy is a bitch, and she always will be. And if she thinks she deserves you then she is damn wrong.”

Peter gently squeezed her hand with a small smile. “Thanks, Michelle…”

“MJ.”

Peter furrowed his brow, confused. “Huh?”

She grinned knowingly at him. “My friends call me MJ.”

Peter’s confused face melted into a smug grin. “Well. Thanks...MJ.”

MJ smiled a smug grin at him before reaching over to rub Layla’s head, making her tail lazily thump against the couch.

After revealing to her that Felicia was cheating on him, Peter felt so much better. He was somewhat thankful for her coming over to allow him to confide in her about what new shit Felicia had put him through. It felt good knowing she finally saw him as a friend instead of a rival.

He soon found that he had gotten very lucky in having MJ as a friend. She was smart, witty, sarcastic, and they both loved to see the looks on Ned or Betty’s faces when they started to act natural around them.

Although they didn’t have much in common, they still enjoyed each other’s company. For the next few months, they would both meet up at 5:30 every morning to walk Layla before having to retreat to their apartments to get ready for the school day, and then again after school, decathlon, or work to walk again.

However, Peter began to fear that their budding friendship wouldn’t last when a few words slipped out during a conversation involving Felicia begging him to take her back, to start dating again.

“I’m sorry, Felicia, but…” He glanced over at MJ, who looked up from the book she was reading in their quiet booth in the back of Delmar’s bodega, a puzzled expression on her face. “I’m already seeing someone else.”

Peter wouldn’t have blamed Michelle for walking out on him, never to interact with him again after those words escaped his mouth… But she didn’t.

She simply grinned smugly, loose ringlets of her dark hair falling in her face. “Who’s the lucky lady, Parker?” She asked in a teasing voice.

Peter smiled worriedly, rubbing the back of his head. “W-well… I think it’s kinda obvious…” His muscles locked up, almost like he was prepared for her to yell at him or storm out without another word, and he’d lose one of his closest friends, but she just stared at him, almost amused.

“Well, jeez, Parker, if you wanted to ask me on a date, you could’ve just said so.”

That was not the reaction he was anticipating.

Peter’s eyes widened. “You… You want to be..?”

“Exclusive, boyfriend and girlfriend, don’t care whatever it’s called, but… Yeah. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt, now would it?” She fiddled with a loose string on her grey-green jacket, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks. A sudden snort made her look up, brow furrowed. “What? What’s so funny?”

“Ned and Betty,” he said, unable to keep the bubbling laugh held in for any longer. “They’re going to _lose it_ if they find out about this.” He covered his mouth to muffle his hysterical laughs, and Michelle started to snicker.

“You freaking dumbass,” she gasped out, shaking her head fondly. “I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when they find out.”

“I mean, they’ve seen us get along more than once, which is priceless itself mind you, but if they find out we’re _dating_ …” Peter grinned cheekily at the girl across from him.

“They’re going to lose their minds,” Michelle finished, all focus on her book long forgotten.

Peter nodded, unable to stop the wide smile from spreading across his face. “Yeah.”

“But for now…” Michelle leaned towards Peter, making his smile falter. His eyes filled with awe and a flicker of intensity to match the look in her dark irises. She closed the space between them, leaving a firm kiss on his lips.

Time seemed to stand still, all sound being drowned out by the pounding of his own heart in his ears, and the sound of MJ’s fluttering heartbeat, as his hand reached up to barely graze over her cheek.

The taller girl finally pulled away, staring hard into Peter’s wonder-filled puppy-dog eyes, watching his lopsided smile tug at the corners of his lips. “I think Layla needs to be walked, don’t you think?”

Peter blinked a few times before nodding like a bobblehead. “Yeah! Right, um, yeah. Let me just, uh…” he hastily stuffed his notebook for English back into his backpack while MJ watched him, already shaking her head affectionately when his dorky awkwardness returned.

“You’re such a loser.”

“ _Your_ loser,” he corrected, flashing her his smug grin, despite his flushed face and slightly swollen lips.

She laughed, shaking her head. “Yeah, you’re right. _My_ loser.” She slid out from her spot in the booth, Peter hastily following suit. “Now hurry up. The sooner we walk Layla, the sooner I can see you in that spandex suit you oh-so-subtly hid from me.”

Peter’s ears turned scarlet, as did his cheeks. He laughed awkwardly, rubbing his arm. “O-okay,” he finally squeaked out.

A few months back, Peter and MJ didn’t _dare_ believe they would be anything other than rivals. But fate just seems to work out that way. They genuinely enjoyed the other’s company, even when Peter was hanging upside down by a strand of webbing attached to the underside of a fire escape landing in a desolate alley with Michelle gently holding his face in her hands, her lips pressed against his.

Even with fate working out the way it did, the two weren’t disappointed in their current situation. They rather enjoyed it, and they both hoped it would stay that way, whatever it took to keep them together and happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic with another tribute to my precious dog.
> 
> It's been two weeks since I've lost her, and I still really miss her. I'd think she'd be a great companion for Peter in some of my fics since she was such an energetic, playful dog.
> 
> I called Layla a variety of nicknames, which include the one Peter addresses her with, so I was pretty much projecting my relationship I had with my own Layla onto Peter and his Layla.
> 
> Anyway, enough with the sob story. Day 7 of Spideychelle is gonna be a prompt drawing on my Tumblr (Wyldespiderraptor), but I'll try my best to write a fic for the prompts I missed after Spideychelle Week!


End file.
